FASHIONABLE wristbands worn by pop stars, actors, top athletes and celebrities to publicise the Make Poverty History campaign are produced in appalling "slave labour" conditions, damning evidence has revealed.The conditions at the Chinese factory don't sound too good, although when I read this complaint:
the company uses "forced labour" by accepting "financial deposits" from new workersI couldn't help thinking of our own closed-shop rules that the same wristband-wearing economic illiterates invariably supported.
The point of course is that is entirely possible that the guilt-ridden charities will now have increased poverty in China by switching their purchases to other firms. Workers in poor countries become wealthier by undercutting western competitors until they have moved up the value chain. I wonder anyone from these charities has actually asked any Chinese worker if they prefer to no longer be "exploited" but unemployed.
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ron thomson
having worked in the Uk charity sector for twenty years nothing surprises me anymore. the longer I worked there the more selfish the more corrupt the charity sector seemed to be. lets raise funds from our poor supporters so we can meet and increase our targets and get bigger bonuses and PR for making everyone outside think we are doing a great job
2 June 2005, 14:01:51 GMT+01:00
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dearieme
Hang on; "slavery" where the "slaves" fund it? Proposition: all words taken up by The Left degrade until little meaning remains. (The Second Law of Verbodynamics.)
31 May 2005, 11:26:23 GMT+01:00
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Bill
The point you make is telling - it is the way countries such as Japan and South Korea got where they are today. FairTrade may sound superficially beneficial, but it tends to be people in rich countries salving their consciences, rather than bringing long-term benefit to the world's poor.
I hate to sound like a complete curmudgeon, but any charity fund-raising venture that has the involvement of 'Sir' Bob Geldof tends to have me running in the opposite direction - fast!
30 May 2005, 13:31:57 GMT+01:00
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